Socket connector



Jan. 13, 1953 c. E. GILBERT 2,625,576

socxs'r CONNECTOR Filed March 7, 1947 2 smzsws-smzm 1 I8 ;1 2+ H1\'IJ'IIIIIII I, I4- 12 15g I ATTORNEYS Jan. 13, 1953 c. E. GILBERT SOCKETCONNECTOR 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed March '7, 1947 Char/es 5 G BY gb?INVENTOR.

ATTOR Patented Jan. 13, 1953v .UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE SOCKETCONNECTGR Charles E; Gilbert, New York,- N Y; Margaret Doris Gilbert,Norman Coates; and The Chase National Bank of'the City of- New Yorkexecw' tors of said Charles E. Gilbert, deceased Application March 7,1947, Serial No. 732,983

4 Claims.

The' invention relates to a new and useful im-- provement in electricalconnectors of the y used for making an electrical connection betweentwoelectrical conductor cords Where one of said cords, for instance, isconnected to an electrical supply outlet and the other to an electricalappliance.

The main object of the invention is to provide an electrical connectorof the type above referred to which can bemade of a minimum number ofparts and produced at a minimum of cost, and in which the contactelements thereof may be securely positioned and held in the connectorbody in correct alignment, and also in secure contact with a connectorcord, without the use of screws, rivets,- or other securing devices.

A further object is to provide anelectrical conne'ctor' construction inwhich the contact elements thereof may be removably positioned in theconnector body, and the connection of the conductor cord to the contactelements is a step in the assembly of the connector itself.

A further object is to provide an electrical co'nnector which can beeasily disassembled and assembled again without the exercise of anyparticular mechanical skill.

In the drawing- Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional View of theconnector body utilized in carrying out the objects of my invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional View of the connector' body, the upperportion of the figure being a cross-section of Figure 1, taken on theline 22 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows and thelower portion of the figure being a crosssection taken on the line 3-3of Figure 1, lookin in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of an insert mem her which may be used inthe connector assembly;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the electrical contact elementsused in the construction; and

Figure 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the connector in itsassembled condition.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the upper open end of the connector with theinsert member removed therefrom.

Figure 7 is a transverse section of the connector taken on the line 1-!of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

As particularly shown in Figure 5, the preferred form of the completeelectrical connector, made in accordance with the invention, consists offour parts, namely, the connector body I, the contact elements" 2 and3', and the insert member 4.

The connector body lmay be molded from any suitable rigid insulatingmaterial. The' con'ta'ct elements?! and 3 are formed-0fconductingim'aterial and-- may be made by stamping the same out of astrip of such-conducting material-and so that they are formed ina"slightly bowed shape, asindicat'ed in Figure 4, and are provided-With arectangular-shaped slot- 5. atone" end-pa: tri angular shapedcutoutportion. 5 at the. other end, and a raised projection 1 on theside face; 8 thereof;

The interior of theconnector plug. body is molded so that it isformedwith two longitudinall extending recesses 9 and. ill, which areadapted to have the contact. elements 2. and positioned therein,- andalso to receive 171190011. tact elements of another conductor plug: whensuch plug is to be connected to the connector. The inner ends of therecesses 9 and [0 are closed, and the upper ends thereof openthroughthelarger open end of the connector body. Each recess is rectangular inshape and has an outer, solid side wall I l and an inner partial wallcomprised of the spaced flange members wand-l3 which extend the entirelength of the recesses and are connected together at their lower-ends bya short wall portion. M, which is formed with a triangular shaped slotl5 therein.- The outer side walls ll of said recesses-at theirupperends, are provided with a projecting part It, which forms ashoulder H, the purpose of which-Will be more fully pointedout-hereinafter. The-recesses formed within the connector body, as.above dcscribed, are made of substantially the same width. as the widthof the contact elements 2 and: 3. The side walls [8 and 19, of theconnector body, between the flanges l2 and i3, are providedwith thereduced areas 20 which provide the ledges. 21- onthe interior of thesaidside walls; Formed on the side faces of the reduced areas21.1,-are-the rounded, slightly protruding portions 22;

The connector body is alsoprovide'd with an opening 2-3, whichcommunicates the inte'-" rior thereof, and through which anelectricalconductor cord 23' may be inserted. Positioned around the v opening 23are four triangular shaped reinforcing strips 24 which extend up= wardlyin the connector body, as most clearly shown in Figure 1.

In the assembly of the connector, I preferably utilize a hollow insertmember 4, shown in Figure 3, although such insert member maybe-eliminated from the construction, if desired. When said insert memberforms part' of the assembly, it provides a better insulated constructionfor the connector body. This insert member is made substantiallyrectangular in shape and is molded of insulating material and so that itis formed with the sides 25, 26, 21, and 28. The outer faces of thesides 25 and 26 are formed with the raised portions 29 and 3|], the sideedges of which are adapted to have a sliding fit between the spacedflanges I2 and i3, which form the partial inner walls for the recesses 9and it. The sides 27 and 28 of the insert member terminate at theirupper ends in the outwardly-extending flanged portions 3| and 32, whichare provided with the transverse grooves 33 and 34 therein. The lowerfaces of these outwardly-extending flanged portions 3i and 32 of theinsert member are adapted to engage the ledges 2| formed in the sidewalls I8 and it of the connector body, and the grooves 33 and 34 of saidflanged portions are adapted to engage with the rounded, slightlyprotuding portions 22, formed on the cutout portion 29, of said sidewalls when the said insert member is in assembled relation with theconnector body. The rounded, slightly protruding portions 22 areindicated more clearly in the upper portion of Figure 2, and extend onlyslightly outwardly from the side walls of the connector body so thatwhen the hollow insert member a is forced into the connector body theywill slide past the flanged portion's 3| and 32 of the insert member andwill become seated in the grooves 33 and 34 thereof when said insertmember is fully positioned with respect to the connector body.

To assemble the electrical connector, and to connect it to an electricalconductor cord, the ends of the two insulated conductors of the cord arefirst separated and the insulation removed therefrom. Then the baredends of the cord are inserted into the connector body through theopening 23 until they project a short distance above the open end of theconnector body. The lower ends of the contact elements 2 and 3, whichare provided with the triangular-shaped cutout portions 6, are thencaused to engage the bared ends of the conductor cord, and thecontactelements, with their bowed-out sides facing inwardly of theconnector body, are manually inserted into the recesses 3 and It, withthe result that the bared wire ends of the conductor cord will becomefolded around the lower ends of the contact elements and forced downinto the recesses and gripped in the triangularshaped cutout portions 6thereof. Vhen the contact elements are fully inserted in their recessesin the connector body, the projections beside slots at the other endsthereof are caused to be snapped under and to engage the shoulders H ofthe thickened parts of the side walls ll, and the contact elements willthus be held in a locked resilient position within the recesses so as toprovide a resilient contact surface to engage with the contact elementsof an electrical plug which may be inserted into the recesses of theconnector body. The projection 'l, which is formed on the bowed face ofthe contact elements, will provide an additional surface for insuring aproper electrical contact between the plug contact elements and thecontact elements of the connector body. When the contact elements 2 and3 are inserted in the recesses formed in the connector body, theinsulated portions of the connector cords which are just beyond thebared ends of said cords, will be forced into the triangular-shapedslots i5 in the wall portions M, at the lower end of the recesses,become wedged therein, and will be bent sharply over the edges of saidslots. This will 4 effect a secure locking of the conductor cord in theconnector body, and if the cord should be unduly pulled at any time, thestrain will be absorbed by the insulated portions of the cord and willbe removed from the non-insulated ends thereof.

After the connector body is assembled with the contact elements and theconductor cord, the insert member 4 may be positioned in the connectorbody, if desired. The insert member is inserted into the connector bodyin such manner that the side edges of the raised portions 29 and 30, ofits sides 25 and 26, will be slidingly engaged between the edges of thespaced flange members I2 and I3, and then it is forced downwardly intothe connector body until the outwardly-extending flanged portions 3| and32, of the sides 21 and 28, engage with and are seated on the ledges 2|formed on the side walls H3 and [9 of the connector body. When theinsert member is thus positioned in the connector body, the rounded,slightly protruding portions 22 formed on the side walls I8 and |9 ofthe connector body wall become engaged in the grooves 33 and 34 of theoutwardly-extending flanged portions 3| and 32 of the insert member, andthe insert member will thus be securely locked in place in the connectorbody.

It will be seen that in the above-described construction of theelectrical connector of my invention, the contact elements can bequickly and easily securely positioned in the connector body without theuse of rivets or other securing means and can also be easily removedtherefrom for replacement, if necessary, and the entire connector can bereadily assembled and disassembled without employing any special tooland by any person of average intelligence. In dis assembling the partsof the connector, all that is required is to insert a pointed instrumentinto the connector body and pry out the insert mem ber d, if it is usedin the assembly, and then use the same instrument to dislodge and removethe contact elements. Also, the construction provides an eflicientelectrical connector for providing an extension conductor cord between aconductor cord attached to an electrical supply cord and a cord attachedto an electrical appliance.

What I claim is:

1. An electrical connector comprising a onepiece rigid molded bodyprovided with a central aperture therethrough and a pair of internalrecesses which are adapted to receive the contact blades of an electricplug and which are closed at one end and open at the other end andseparated from said central aperture by a pair of flanges spaced fromeach other and which form the inner partial walls of said recesses, ashoulder formed on the outer wall of each recess, adjacent the open endthereof, a pair of electrical contact blades positioned respectivelywithin said recesses and each consisting of a strip of resilientconducting material having means provided at one end for makingelectrical contact with a wire of an electrical conductor cord and meansat its other end for engaging the shoulder on the outer wall of itsrecess, said body having reduced wall portions formed about one part ofsaid central aperture and providing ledges on said walls, projectionsextending from said reduced wall portions, and a molded closure memberremovably positioned in said central opening and seated on said ledgesand having means for engaging with said projections to lock said closuremember within said central aperture.

2. An electrical connector comprising a rigid one-piece molded bodyhaving a central aperture therethrough and a pair of internal recesseswhich are adapted to receive the contact blades of an electric plugtherein, said recesses being open at one end and closed at the other endand separated from said central aperture by a partial wall consisting ofspaced flanges, a shoulder formed on each of the outer walls of saidrecesses adjacent the open end of each recess, an electrical conductorcord positioned in said central aperture having the bared ends of itswires extending adjacent to the closed ends of said recesses, a pair ofelectrical contact blades each consisting of a strip of resilientconducting material having a triangular-shaped slot formed at one endfor gripping and holding the bared end of one of said wires in itsrecess, the other end of each said strip being slotted, each strip beingbowed and positioned in its recess with the triangular-shaped slottedend engaging a conductor wire in the closed end of its recess and theother slotted end engaging the shoulder on its recess. the strip beingremovably retained in its said position by its resilience, said bodyhaving reduced portions formed in the wall surrounding one part of saidcentral aperture and forming ledges in said wall, a projection extendingfrom each said reduced wall portion, and a molded insert memberremovably inserted in said central aperture and seated on said ledges,said member having slotted wall means engaging with said projections andraised side faces, the edges of which slidingly engage between thespaced flanges of said recesses.

3. An electrical connector comprised of a rigid one-piece insulated bodyhaving a pair of longitudinal recesses formed therein which are open atone end and closed at the other end and which are adapted to receive thecontact blades of an electric plug therein, each of said recesses havinga partial inner wall comprised of longitudinallyextending spaced flangemembers joined together at one end by a transversely-extending wallprovided with a triangular-shaped slot therein, said body also having acentral longitudinal aperture separated from said recesses by saidflange members for the introduction of an electrical conductor cord, anelectrical conductor cord positioned in said central longitudinalaperture and having a pair of wires with insulated end portionspositioned respectively in the triangular-shaped slots of saidtransversely-extending walls and bared wire end portions extendingrespectively in said recesses, a pair of electrical contact blades eachremovably seated in one of said recesses and consisting of a strip ofresilient electrical conducting material stressed into a bowed shape andformed with a slot at one end and with a triangular-shaped cutoutportion at the other end for gripping the end of one of said wires andfor holding the same against the walls of its recess, and a shoulder onthe outer wall of each of said recesses, the under-side of which engageswith the slotted end of a contact blade when seated in its recess toresiliently hold the said blade seated against longitudinal movement.

4. An electrical connector consisting of a onepiece rigid insulated bodyhaving a pair of longitudinally-extending recesses formed therein whichare open at one end and closed at the other end and which are adapted toreceive the contact prongs of an electric plug therein, each of saidrecesses having an inner wall comprised of longitudinally-extendingflange members spaced apart from each other and joined together at oneend by a transversely-extending wall formed with a triangular-shapedcutout notch therein, said body having a centrallongitudinally-extending aperture separated from said recesses by saidflange members, an insulated electrical conductor cord having its wireends positioned in one portion of said central longitudinal aperture andwith the insulated portions of its wire ends positioned respectively inthe triangularly-shaped notches of the transversely-extending walls andthe bared wire portions of said cord ends extending into respective onesof said recesses, a pair of electrical contact blades removably seatedin said recesses, each of said blades being bent into a bowed shape andhaving a slotted end portion and a triangular-shaped notched end portionand a raised contact projection formed on one face thereof, a shoulderformed on the inner face of the outer wall of each of said recesses nearthe open end thereof, the under-side of each said shoulder engaging withthe slotted end of one of the contact blades to hold said blade in itsrecess against longitudinal displacement, reduced portions formed in thewall surrounding one end portion of said central longitudinal apertureforming ledges in said Wall, a projection formed on each of said reducedwall portions, a molded insert piece removably positioned in the endportion of said central longitudinal aperture and seated on said ledges,said member being provided with slots for engaging respectively with theprojections formed on said reduced wall portions and also having raisedside faces, the edges of which slidingly engage between thelongitudinally-extending flange members which form the inner walls ofsaid recesses.

CHARLES E. GILBERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,894,112 McNeil Jan. 10, 19332,110,035 Chirelstein Mar. 1, 1938 2,115,642 Martin Apr. 26, 19382,178,417 Boggild Oct. 31, 1939 2,181,575 Chirelstein Nov. 28, 19392,181,576 Chirelstein Nov. 28, 1939 2,201,578 Grohsgal May 21, 19402,222,715 Kuhlman Nov. 26, 1940 2,283,889 Gilbert May 19, 1942 2,308,324Benander Jan. 12, 1943 2,318,485 Herman May 4, 1943 2,336,218 Blinn Dec.7, 1943 2,443,797 Miller June 22, 1948

